please help me with ep choice!

[spikeface]

i know that variations on this question have been asked before, but i'm really having trouble understanding a lot of the answers...

i have a 12" lightbridge on its way...and i'm planning on shopping for e.p.s to honour it's glorious, glorious arrival.

so a few questions then... what eyepiece comes with the 12"? how much mag does it give? it seems the advice on this forum leans towards getting, say, 3 good quality eyepieces intially... so what constitutes low, medium and high? and the smaller the size, the higher the magnification, correct? i feel like an idiot... but i'm so freakin' excited! so if anyone can help me with some info, i'd be forever appreciative!

[toyos]

A Televue Ethos 13mm should be one of them. I'll never go back to any lesser eyepieces.....

[madtuna]

Hi Spike...before you go forking out big bucks for the Ethos as suggested :lol:

Your Light bridge will no doubt come with a couple of EP's
I would hazard a guess and say the supplied ones will be more than suitable to start and find your way arround with.

May I suggest attending a few viewing nights, the guys/gals will be more than happy to let you take a peek through thier EP's in your scope.
This way you can get a better feel for exactly what you want and what works for you.

Cheers

[wavelandscott]

Go to the Televue website and read the material there with respect to eyepiece choices...This will give you a great deal of background information and help you identify some of the characteristics in eyepieces that you should look for...

As mentioned, get to a few viewing nights with others and use your new gear as is for a while before splashing out on an more eyepieces...especially if this is a first scope.

I'd recommend getting the art of collimation down first (if this is a first scope) and spend your first gear money on the tools to get this done accurately. It is not difficult but it is a skill that you will need to master to take full advantage of your new scopes capabilities.

Once you get some viewing time under your belt then get you money out and spend it on a few high quality eypieces.

[JethroB76]

Your Lightbridge will come with a 26mm Meade QX, 70 degree eyepiece; a reasonably low power eyepiece for your scope, useful for framing objects, nebulae etc - however I found it a particularly poor performer but others like it.

Aside from an eyepiece in this focal length range, one in the range of 10-14mm for higher power DSO work and low power planetary and 7-9mm for planetary work will probably be in your future.

Do as suggested above though, get to a viewing night if possible and, read; there are alot of threads covering eyepieces for beginners etc

[Jeff]

Hi Spike,

Folks will have differing (but equally valid) opinions on what eyepieces you should buy .... will also depend on your budget and how much you plan to use/enjoy the scope. I purchased a 10" LightBridge just after xmas, and originally added a few budget eyepieces to complement the Meade 26mm QX (which gives 58x magnification in your FL 1500mm f/5 scope).

My suggestions for your are as follows (prioritised):
(pri#1) Tele Vue Nagler 12mm - 125x medium/high power for star clusters & nebulas
(pri#2) TV Nagler 19mm - 79x medium/low power for star clusters & nebulas
(pri#3) TV 1.25" 2x Barlow - allowing Nagler 12mm use as 6mm (250x) for planetary & lunar close-ups
(pri#4) TV Panoptic 27mm (replacing 26mm QX) - 55x for panning, large nebulas & open clusters

The bad news is that this modest set would set you back about $1380 .... or about 80% of that ($1100) if you purchase 2nd hand. The good bit is that they tend to hold their value (if you ever want to sell them).

Another option (favoured by many) is be to initially buy a few EP's for about $100 each as I did. Although you may soon be selling these for 50% of purchase due to blurred/flared stars beyond the central part of the view.

Hope you get to enjoy your scope soon.
Cheers, Jeff

[spikeface]

hey guys! thanks for all the help... i've purchased a meade 5000 series set... it may not be the best, but they're much, much better than the ones i used to have...

all i need to do now is get the scope! should be tomorrow or tuesday!

EXCITING!

also... what's the best way to clean an eyepiece of fingerprints? i'm looking to sell my old ones, and one has a print on it... damn clumsy fingers...

[Jeff]

A lens pen works well for me (for the occassional bad fingerprint).
https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Product.aspx?ID=6621 (https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Product.aspx?ID=6621)

[programmer]

So the 5000 series is the plossls? Whatever the case, that's not a bad set I would've thought! Did you get them 2nd hand?

Cleaning.. answer is don't, unless it's absolutely necessary. Also check existing threads. There's one running at the moment about different solutions, including a good link.

[spikeface]

ah, no! i got them new for just over $500... they're the plossls... there's a 32mm, 20mm, 14mm, and a 5.5mm... i think they're amazing personally... 60degree f.o.v., adjustable rubber thingy for eye comfort... and they came in a wicked metal case that makes me seem more important than i am... i also picked up a UHC filter for just over $100...

[programmer]

I'd say money well spent. Hope you get to enjoy them more often than I do over here.

[dazastar]

look up kokusai kohki on the web, he's a japanese manufacurer that makes ortho's for meade, university optics, antaries etc. You can get awesome abbe orthos for high power viewing that have amazed many. And there surprisngly inexpensive, I got mine for under $50. Very sharp high contrast views. I can definatly say that anyone who loves observational astronomy should have one in their kit. He has some descent erfles as well. You dont have to spend big bucks to get good gear in some cases.

http://www.kkohki.com/English/kkohkiparts.html